Archdemons
OVERVIEW Archdemons are the creatures that Nico creates to serve as his Demon Princes to spawn his demon armies. He first creates one when he is trapped on an island within Skies End after bringing down Rinjiin’s draconic Vessel. The first ‘birthing’ of this creature had been rather painful, but ever since Nico is shown to be able to create Archdemons with little trouble. APPEARANCE The Archdemons share the same appearance no matter the number. They have the appearance of a typical dragon, basically consisting of a snout, a long neck, a main body sporting 2 arms, 2 reverse-jointed hind legs, 2 large wings and a long Tail. However, that was where the rather... wicked, grotesque features the Abnormal had took over. They had Snouts made from dark blackish hardened sinew shaped like a snout, reshaping into a series of spikes protruding upwards out the back like some form of crest. There were more claw-like spikes protruding from the middle of their snouts while the tips had multiple fang-shaped spikes protruding downwards. These snouts contained a lipless maw of razor sharp, blade-like teeth, while the snouts sported hollow, crimson eyes. They had more spikes coming down from the back of the heads to the start of their long necks. These long necks consisted of a mix of sinister, twisted crimson flesh and a black organic material shaped like Armour. The length of the necks rivalled 2 greatswords stacked on top of each other. The neck's flesh almost looked like it had once been something else, but then something foreign and evil corrupted and twisted it into its current form. Moving along, their bodes matched the design of the neck, a mix of corrupted flesh and dark black chitinous Armour, covering most of the body for protection. These creatures have no 'skin' at all, just this demonic red muscle layer and the Armour itself. Their bodies had 6 limbs, the forearms which looked to be covered by the Armour more, and ended in several long, equally wicked looking talons that looked like they could rip through concrete. Both forearms are long, and their talons rivalled the lengths of shortswords. The legs also had a heavier focus on the twisted-looking Armour, being reverse jointed so they could jump higher. They each ended in similar talons too, so they could serve as secondary weapons. From their upper backs, protruded their wings, a large enough size to make flight possible, consisting of blackened bone and demonic, twisted crimson webbing that was tattered near the bottom. Lastly, was the Tails, appendages that easily looked about 14 feet long with sharp, jagged spikes at both the base pointing downwards, and around the tips for stabbing. POWERS AND ABILITIES The Archdemons are powerful beings, beings which are able to go toe to toe with other DPUs and Demon Princes. Their large size allows them to perform significant feats of strength, their speed is capable of reaching half Mach 1 on the ground but goes up to Mach 2 in the air, and they use a mix of their claws, fangs, demonic powers and Tails to attack their enemies. Archdemons are also capable of speech, or rather, speech through the mind when they mature, which is unseen outwardly as it is an internal process. This speech is significant to their abilities, as it allows them to function as the leading Demon Princes of Nico’s armies. In addition, they are exceptionally intelligent, and are capable of forming intricate battle plans. They serve as a mix of Generals and Warriors in Nico’s Armies. Wings ''' Their wings are large and strong enough that, despite the holes in them, can generate large gusts of wind that stun opponents for a short time, or knock aerial enemies flying out of the skies. A demonic energy empowered wind gust can even shatter large buildings. '''Tails The Tails of Archdemons have the capacity to strike down large structures with their strength, and have special paralyzing venom imbued into their spikes, allowing these Tails to render opponents useless and to give the Archdemons a chance to finish them off. Depending on the target, this agent takes effect in different timeframes. Demonic Power reserves ''' They have large reserves of demonic power, which helps them boost their innate regeneration from wounds. These reserves are large enough that they rival Nico’s during the middle of the Leanbox Arc, but as he devours more and more souls his reserves become significantly greater than theirs. Not only do these reserves help them recover from wounds, but they enhance their attacks, defences, and can act as a fuel source for their larger attacks. These reserves are also capable of spawning Demons that serve it, and by extension Nico himself. '''Soul eaters Like any Demon in existence, Archdemons have the ability to devour the souls of their victims, storing them inside their bodies in a prison of eternal torment. These souls fuel their evolution, boosting their powers and making them gods in their own right. Immortality Archdemons are immortal, and cannot truly be killed. If they were to die, then they would release their energies as a violent explosion that takes their killer along with them, before these energies vanish to reform the Archdemon later. Primordial (Primal) flames What makes the Archdemons so threatening on the battlefield is that they have the ability to manipulate the Primordial flames, the very first flames that emerged from the dawn of creation. These flames form as pure dark blue flames that they breathe through their mouths, though in actuality it is generated from their reserves of Demonic power. These flames have many applications, which are the following. Firestorms – Archdemons can create dark blue firestorms, conflagrations of intense temperature, capable to incinerating any and everything in the path. The flames can come from any source of fire or heat, such as simple or magic flames or lava. Fiery Rain – Using their flames, the Archdemons can generate a fiery-type rain from the skies above them. Droughts - Primordial flames have the power to cause draughts, periods of below-average precipitation in a given region, resulting in prolonged shortages in the water supply, whether atmospheric, surface water or ground water. Volcanic eruptions – By sending primordial flames into the ground below them', '''Archdemons can create artificial volcanic eruptions that, depending on the power output, can rise up to the skies themselves, scarring the very atmosphere. '''Shape manipulation' – '''Like Nico/Crimson Soul, Archdemons can create various shapes from their Flames, depending on the situation. They can use this ability offensively or defensively. For example they could combust and cover themselves in their flames to form a protective barrier that repels attackers. '''Heat Manipulation – '''Using their Primordial flames as a vacuum, Archdemons absorb heat from their surroundings, making other flame-based attacks useless on them. They can put out any fire due to the flames their bodies generate being the strongest flames. These flames can make certain areas hotter and cause beings to self-immolate, burning them to nothingness. '''Existence destruction – '''Thanks to their flames being the original, hottest flames in existence, any enemy killed by these flames loses not only their lives but their souls as well. Everything about them is erased, never to return. Demons and other beings that are immortal fear Archdemons for this ability, as their immortality is rendered useless against it. '''Meteor generation – '''Sending their flames into the air, similar to fiery rain, Archdemons can call down dark blue burning meteors to decimate their enemies. They can call for a small shower or a large storm of them, their size depending on their energy also. '''Demon Creation Through ejecting ‘pods’ made from Demonic Power out of its body, the Archdemon can spawn Greater and Lesser Demons. These Demons are commanded by the Archdemons, who ‘talk’ to them via a Hivemind-like link. This link works in a similar manner to the ones Devil Arms have with their Hosts. With this link, the Archdemon commands entire hordes of Demons for the purposes of its master. Astral Projection When an Archdemon has significant control over their powers, they will be able to invade the minds of other beings as long as they were of a weaker level than the Archdemon. When they invade a person’s mind, they can use their powers to cause various mental conditions, up to turning people downright psychotic and deranged. Depending on what the demon does in their mindscapes, their inner worlds, the victims personality can completely change.